NEW SEC Advisory on KAPA – PH Government Freezes KAPA’s Php 100M Assets, Including Crypto Holdings

December 12, 2019 – The Securities and Exchange Commission said in a press release that it was made aware of YouTube videos with alleged news stating that KAPA will not be subjected anymore to NBI raid because it is now an SEC Crowd Funding entity. 

SEC sets the record straight to mention that KAPA is not registered under SEC Memorandum Circular No. 14, Series of 2019 or the Rules and Regulation Governing Crowd Funding. If they are not registered as such, then they are not licensed to engage in Crowd Funding. The SEC advised the public to exercise caution in watching videos that have been found to contain false reports.

Original Article Follows:

June 17, 2019 – Embattled religious corporation Kapa Community Ministry International had its assets secured by the Philippines’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) after a court ruling early this June.

On June 4, 2019, the Court of Appeals issued a freeze order of Kapa’s assets, which according to the SEC amounted to Php 100 million, making the fraudulent investment scheme disguised as a religious exercise as one of the biggest in the Philippines. The SEC obtained the freeze order through the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), who has the power to forfeit any assets related to illegal investment activities.

The frozen assets include those in bank accounts as well as insurance policies, cryptocurrency holdings, and other assets that are linked to Kapa. Records show that Kapa also owns luxury cars, sports vehicles, a helicopter, a hospital, a school, and other properties.

According to SEC chairman Emilio Aquino, the government could not wait for the fraudulent investment scheme to crumble and the investors to suffer before they take action. Mr. Aquino is referring to how pyramid schemes normally collapse by itself once the members from the lower “levels” could not sustain the payouts to those above them or simply once no one wanted to invest anymore.

Kapa entices members to “donate” atleast Php 10,000 which will have a 30% monthly return on investment for life. However, Kapa is not allowed to obtain investments as it is not registered with the SEC to do so.

The Commission believes Kapa has generated at least Php 50 billion from the scam. This is way higher than last year’s crypto scam in the country where a couple had amassed an amount close to Php 2 billion. The scheme also promised a 30% profit. At first, payouts were given. However, typical to any investment scams, payouts dried out soon after. They were arrested last April 2018.

Crypto-related or not, the Philippines’ Securities and Exchange Commission regularly released advisories about fraudulent investment schemes here.

This article first appeared on BitPinas: PH Government Freezes KAPA’s Php 100M Assets, Including Crypto Holdings

Source: GMA News, Rappler, Inquirer

New SEC Advisory (December 2019) can be found here.

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